Tag Archives: Advertising

That headline sounds sort of ominous, but it’s really just meant to be a passing commentary about how we’re not surprised to come across something like the Selfie Bottle in an age where the selfie is so ubiquitous. The product is a smart concoction from Israeli advertising agency Gefen Team, and look, here we are talking about it so it works! It’s designed to attach to a 0.5L Coca-Cola bottle and automatically snap a selfie every time you tilt the bottle past 70 degrees. The picture is then presumably automatically uploaded to social media sites to share your ecstatic mug with the world. Now don’t think this is something you’ll be able to buy somewhere; it was designed specifically for the Summer Love Event, some sort of community event organized or at the very least sponsored by Coke.

In a few short days, October 21st 2015 will arrive. That happens to be the day Marty McFly arrived in the “future”, where he was welcomed with a laundry list of then-futuristic innovations that mostly failed to come to market. Except of course for those that didn’t, because of a marketing tie-in from some clever company. This time it’s Pepsi, and they’re releasing a very limited edition of Pepsi Perfect, the soda you see in one of the scenes in the movie.

Fans located in the U.S. can get their hands on 1 of 6,500 Pepsi Perfect bottles, each outfitted in a special collectible case. The 16.9 oz. bottles will contain Pepsi Made with Real Sugar and will sell for $20.15.

Well, that’s a lot of dollars to pay for something you probably won’t even drink because you realize it’s a collectible and might be wroth a couple extra dollars on eBay in 15 years from now or something. Then again, it’s a collectible, so if you’re a BTTF fan just suck it up and pony up.

We’re not sure who is coming up with marketing ideas at Pizza Hut, or even if it’s all the same person, but we’re impressed. Because to their pizzas with Cheeseburgers, Meat Pies, and Hot Dogs in the crust, you can now add another innovation: the Blockbuster Box, a pizza box that turns into a projector. The box, once emptied of its delicious content, lets you place your smartphone inside, at the ideal distance from an included lens. This lens comes attached to the plastic device that prevents the box from getting crushed in transit. The plastic device itself doubles as the phone stand. So all you have to do is poke the precut hole in the front, fit the lens, prop your phone up inside, and aim at your screen (which could simply be your wall!). There’s a code on the side for customers to scan and unlock viewable content, should there be nothing interesting on their devices.

The Blockbuster Box is the work of Ad agency Ogilvy & Mather Group HK and their Chief Creative Officer Reed Collins, and comes in four styles: “from the horror themed Slice Night, sci-fi spectacle Anchovy Armageddon, bizarrely romantic Hot and Ready, and the thrilling Fully Loaded.” It’s Hong Kong only at the moment, but we suspect this may become popular enough to spread worldwide.

Everyone has to start somewhere, but when it comes to tattoos, you’d hope your artist wouldn’t start on you. Like anyone else developing a craft, they need practice, but low-standards Guinea Pigs are hard to come by. That’s why we’re really digging Tattoo Art Magazine’s initiative to create “The Skin Book”, a sketchbook made entirely of artificial skin, as part of a marketing push made in partnership with Brazilian ad agency Lew’Lara TBWA. Each page is made to feel just like a different part of the body, such as knuckles or a man’s chest. Artists can practice their craft while using real ink and needles, which we imagine behave differently than pencils.

There’s no word on whether The Skin Book will ever see the light of day as a product you can purchase, or if it is to remain a marketing prop. But now knowing it exists highlights the fact that this is very probably a product that would find a market in no time, and should consequently be taken seriously as more than just a conversation piece.

There isn’t much to say here, other than to note that this particular ad is effective because the beer is black and reflects light so well. Wouldn’t have worked so well with a lager, and that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Good job, Guinness advertising agency!

The question, of course, is if you’ll even notice this when you’re good and drunk…

Sometimes, all a person needs is an ice-cold bottle of Coca-Cola. You don’t have to be close by to hand them their Coke, because all you’ll need is Twitter. The beverage company’s marketing team has upped their social media interactivity by allowing users to send friends, loved ones, and random strangers a bottle of coke…straight from Twitter!

To get started, users will have to authenticate their account and enter their credit card information. When they’re ready to send some Coke, all they have to do is tweet a link to their intended recipient. When opened, this link lets the receiver redeem their bottle of coke from participating Regal Cinemas locations. Pretty neat, huh?

Did you know that a good portion of the produce farmers grow ends up being discarded simply because it’s too ugly to be sold in stores? Too ugly doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste as good or is less nutritional, so French supermarket chain Intermarché decided to buy these leftover fruits and veggies, and sell them heavily discounted (30% off) in a special aisle named “Les Fruits Et Legumes Moches” (“The Inglorious Fruits And Vegetables”). Stars in the new lineup include “The Grotesque Apple”, “The Ridiculous Potato”, and “The Failed Lemon.” To help people realize that these runts were just as good as their more beautiful siblings, the stores gave away juices and soups prepared with them. And people loved it.

Not only can patrons save a good amount of money by buying these ugly fruits and veggies, instead of the traditional produce, Intermarché’s initiative is helping drive awareness about food waste. Seeing as the EU declared 2014 to be the “European Year against Food Waste”, the French grocer’s actions are a solid first step towards Europe’s goal of reducing waste by half by the year 2025.

If you’re thinking that this doesn’t look like your typical poster, then you’re spot on, because it isn’t. Beck’s playable poster is different in the sense that plays music when you touch it. It may look like a mere image of a speaker, but touch a couple of knobs and buttons and tunes from selected bands will begin to play.

The posters were commissioned by Beck’s to promote New Zealand’s local musicians, and this is truly an innovative way of doing that. Beck’s playable posters use conductive ink, with parts of the surface linked to an embedded flat panel speaker at the back, which in effect, makes the poster a speaker in itself.

It happens every year. It’s true that the thought behind the present matters the most, but some are just so bad or so ugly that the gift itself has no true value in your life. (In short, you’ll never use it, wear it, or display it around your house.) With this in mind, Houlihan’s Restaurant put on their thinking hat and came up with a promotion that will let people trade in their ugly presents for something else that could be better.

To sweeten the deal, all participants stand a chance to win a $25 gift card that they can spend at the restaurant. The only condition is that the presents can’t cost more than $10. To join in on the fun, send in your unwanted White Elephant presents to Houlihan’s at 8700 State Line Rd., Suite 100, Leawood, KS, 66206. They’ll send you a random present for your troubles that might come with the bonus gift card if you happen to be the lucky winner.

OhGizmo! is a frequently updated blog that focuses on covering items that will appeal to a very specific and often very passionate audience: the geek. Aside from the fare of innovative consumer electronic products, the reader can expect to find news about geek culture, absurd inventions, awe inspiring technology, and an ever growing assortment of articles that we like to think fit within our view of what we’re calling the Geek Lifestyle.